


Hikaru and Ben: the Ultimate Destination Wedding

by KirkSatori



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 13:51:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8210848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirkSatori/pseuds/KirkSatori
Summary: In which Hikaru and Ben navigate long distance, wedding plant decor, whacky families (both Enterprise and biological), and make their way toward the ultimate, all-time, high score: a happy, healthy, successful marriage ~! (ง˙∀˙)ว





	

**Author's Note:**

> Shouts to my dudes, [Emmabee](https://twitter.com/emmabeeh) and [PeregrineWillams](http://archiveofourown.org/users/PeregrineWilliams/pseuds/PeregrineWilliams) for beta-ing for me! The title is a play off those cheesy, lovely wedding blog posts that wedding photographers make. Also I want everyone to know that the summary was at least 40% lifted from this [Lin Manuel Miranda tweet](https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/772774640427073537).

Kirk is the first one to realize that something’s up.

Well, the first one after Pavel anyway. But Hikaru _told_ Pavel. So.

To begin the explanation, he should mention that he and Kirk actually have similar tastes in music, although Hikaru loses Kirk somewhere around “funk pop” and Kirk loses Hikaru with anything past Metallica. They have their music clouds synced up so they can steal songs from each other’s libraries, especially at the gym. Kirk, Hikaru thinks, has some _good_ workout mixes and happily, Kirk thinks the same of Hikaru. Once or twice they even streamed the same playlist together, when Hikaru was showing Kirk some fencing pointers.

“Wanna become one with the master?” Hikaru had intoned, grinning. “Become one with the master’s music.”

It’s actually the whole “becoming one with the master’s music” that has Hikaru busted on this occasion which isn’t a problem, exactly, but, well…

This is all new territory for him, that’s all he’s saying.

“Is there something we should have a talk about?” Kirk asks, standing beside the lat-pulldown machine while Hikaru sits, resting between sets. Hikaru slips off his headphones.

“Hm? Why?”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe it’s because you’ve been listening to the same playlist for the past three days.” Kirk holds up his own music player, Hikaru’s history flashing in the corner of the screen.

Hikaru’s stomach flips. “It’s a good workout mix,” he says.

“It’s _five hours_ of Troye Sivan. You’ve listened to ‘Youth’ 89 times in three days. _89 times._ ” Hikaru’s eyes flick from Kirk’s face to the screen and then back again. He gives a helpless sort of grin because what can he say? He did that. “Sulu,” Kirk says taking on a tone of exaggerated concern. “Are you and Ben getting serious?”

 Sulu laughs, feeling uncharacteristically, almost shy. “We’re getting serious,” he agrees.

“Wait really?” A slow smile breaks across Kirk’s face. “Hey, that’s great!” Kirk slaps him on the arm. “This is _awesome._ ” He grins at Hikaru, completely, genuinely happy for him. “But, look, no offense, but if Troye Sivan shows up in my ‘recommended for you’ box one more time, I am going to have to temporarily suspend you from my cloud. Dude, _I’m_ homesick for Ben and I’m not even dating him.”

“Understood, sir,” Hikaru says in a tone of mock seriousness. They each return to their workout in a good mood.

The crew of every starship, much like the students of every class, has their own collective character. Some starships have crews that get along purely on a professional basis. They work well but lack comradery. Other crews have too many people who place too much value on advancing their career. Hikaru’s been on those ships and the political rivalry practically turns the air blue. The Enterprise, for her part, is full of a lot of people who don’t have anyone else. It makes her crew this big, whacky, functional/dysfunctional family.

 Which kind of makes Pavel his brother. Hikaru’s okay with that.

 “Has he responded yet?” Pavel asks. He’s lying on Hikaru’s bed, playing a game.

“Still no, Pavel,” Hikaru says, trying to keep the impatience out of his voice. That impatience is born out of his own eagerness and nervousness to hear back from Ben. It’s not Pavel’s fault.

 “What could be _taking_ so long?” Pavel demands, as the sounds from the game announce that he’s just cleared Hikaru’s high score. Again.

“He’s probably busy.” Ben is allowed to be busy, to have a life outside of Hikaru. Hikaru certainly does. Geographically, he _is_ the more unavailable one in this relationship. Ben has committed to dating someone on a five-year exploration mission. Hikaru can commit to waiting for the text-back like an adult.

The door to Hikaru’s quarters opens to admit Uhura. “Tell me he’s texted back,” she says by way of greeting.

 Hikaru groans. Pavel, the traitor exclaims “no, he has _not!_ ” as though this is somehow a personal affront to him.

 “You need to let me know as soon as he does,” Uhura says for about the fourth time. There’s a kind of fierceness in her voice that the rational part of Hikaru’s brain thinks is unwarranted. The emotional part of him though, feels comforted.

“Come on,” Uhura continues, sitting at Hikaru’s couch and setting their snacks on the coffee table in front of her. “Help me pick which one to watch.”

Kirk, Spock, Scotty and McCoy are still on Gamma shift, so Hikaru, Pavel and Uhura are going to watch a tv shows until the others are off. Then they’ll head up to the secondary entertainment room for the showing of a new Nollywood film that Uhura is excited for. The showing is open to everyone who wants to come but Hikaru knows that Uhura is especially happy that the commanding officers promised to show up. Hikaru’s happy about it too.

Pavel has already moved to sit with Uhura on the couch. Before he moves to join them, Hikaru casts one more glance over the text he sent to Ben.

_From: Sulu Hikaru_

_Hey. I know it’s hasn’t always been easy but I’m serious about you. I want to give this a real shot. Call me._ He wants to talk on the hologram, face-to-face. Voice message won’t cut it.

 Pavel and Uhura helped him word that. They know that when Ben calls him, Hikaru is ready to tell Ben he loves him. They get the stakes. He puts the phone in his pocket and joins them on the couch. He knows they’ll back him no matter what Ben says in reply.

As nervous as he is, it helps.

Not everyone has been as supportive as the other COs. That isn’t to say that his family and friends have been _un_ supportive but, well…

When he’d come out to one of his old friends from the Academy and told her about him and Ben, she’d said “that’s hot.” That’s it. Just, “that’s hot” and nothing else. He isn’t sure why that bugged him so much. These days, humanity is pretty accepting of various sexualities and orientations. No one is going to be picketing his wedding. He just wishes that people could word their support a little differently.

Ben messages him back in the middle of the movie. It’s called _A Light in Lagos_ and Hikaru is finding it easy to see why Uhura likes it. If you gave the Uhura family a business empire that they’d built from the ground up, in which every major position is occupied by a woman of the family, well… Hikaru could see it, that’s all he’s saying.

Pavel’s legs are sprawled over his and when Hikaru’s phone vibrates in his pocket, they both jump.

“Is it him?” Pavel hisses.

“Shh!” Hikaru hisses back but it’s too late.

“Oh man, is that Ben?” Kirk asks, trying to look over Hikaru’s shoulder, pushing his sock feet on Spock’s thighs for leverage.

“ _Guys_ ,” Hikaru whispers helplessly. There are other people in the room and they’re being kind of rude to them. They’re all looking at him, even McCoy who is pretending as always to be cynical about Hikaru’s “puppy love” (even though Ben is as old as McCoy himself). “I’ve gotta take this,” Hikaru says, extricating himself from the pile to step out into the hall.

“Go get ‘em, tiger,” Kirk says.

The last thing Hikaru hears before reaching the refuge of the door is the movie. The character of the grandmother CEO is telling young Ibikia “you had better be sure who is here for _you_ and who is here for the spectacle.”

Hikaru’s stomach is going crazy as he opens Ben’s text. _I’m serious too,_ it reads. _Believe me, Hikaru. I am very serious about you._ And just like that, the weight Hikaru feels lift from him is almost tangible.

 _Are you free to talk now?_ Ben asks.

 _Yeah, I’m free,_ Hikaru sends back, a huge grin splitting his face. _Let’s talk._

 

Fourteen months later, Hikaru kisses Ben goodnight outside the barracks, sweet and soft. He’s hyperconscious of the rings as they thread their fingers together and Ben says goodbye. Hikaru lingers, watching him head back down the walk, watching his car pull away from the curb and fly off down the road.

As soon as the car is out of sight, Hikaru turns and all but sprints through the hallways until he reaches the quarters he and Pavel share while on leave. Pavel doesn’t scream when Hikaru tells him the news but it’s a close thing, as he jumps up to pull Hikaru into a fierce hug and swing him around, scattering fantasy schematic drawings everywhere.

“We have to find the captain!” Pavel says, dragging him out the door. “We have to find the captain _right now_!”

Kirk has a tradition of buying a drink for crew members who have something to celebrate and that means rounding up their friends to go find a pub. There’s one not too far from the barracks with dark wood trimming, gaudy green carpet and retro paraphernalia decorating the walls. It got good reviews and it feels welcoming.  As they settle at the bar, Pavel hits Kirk rapidly in the arm, interrupting him as he’s calling for the bar keeper.

“Permission to buy Sulu’s first drink, Captain,” he says. Hikaru gives a small huff of a laugh, embarrassed. Pavel looks so excited for him and the captain looks so proud.

Kirk’s grinning as he says “Permission granted.”

As the first drinks arrive, the talk turns to weddings. Hikaru and Ben haven’t settled too many details yet but Hikaru’s happy to share what they do know. “We want it to be on Earth,” he says. “In San Francisco.” Their wedding will be one of the last chances for them to be with family for a long time. “You’re all invited, so look for the save the dates.” Ben had offered to take care of getting started on that while Hikaru puts in for an extended leave. He’s itching to get free to help out; Ben shouldn’t to have to do an unfair share of the work.

Kirk buys him two shots and says “You’re one lucky bastard, Sulu. Spock’s never been able to get me to propose.”

“Since, to quote Dr. McCoy, it is possible to ‘smell the commitment issues on you,’” Spock began. It was an old barb, Hikaru knew, one that had long since lost it’s sting. “I can only conclude that if there were to be any proposal, it would fall to me.”

“Oh right, like you could set up a romantic proposal scenario,” Kirk shoots back.

“I have every confidence that I could,” Spock returns evenly.

“Would it be weird if I told you to prove it?”

“If it were, it would fail to deter me.”

“Alright,” McCoy breaks in gruffly. “That’s enough emotion from you two. We’re in public; it’s disgraceful.”

Hikaru smiles, perfectly content, and lets Uhura suck him and Pavel into a discussion of wedding colors, all the while doodling decorative plants idly on a napkin. The napkin thing is largely an excuse to keep looking at his hands since he keeps getting distracted by his ring. It flashes in the light and the whole crew must have spent an hour admiring it. It’s lightweight and simple (“elegant,” Uhura had called it) but Hikaru’s almost floored by how much it represents.

Things have quieted a little when McCoy slips into the seat next to him. Kirk has vacated that seat and is currently attempting to help Scotty hustle Hendorff and some of the other security guards at pool.

“Jim’s right you know,” McCoy says. “It’s damn hard to find something steady in this line of work. Hell, it’s hard enough when you’re both planet side.” Hikaru nods but says nothing. The whole crew knows McCoy’s backstory. “I hope you’re willing to work for it, kid.”

“He’s worth the work,” Hikaru says simply.

McCoy actually cracks a smile at that before taking another sip of whiskey. “You’re a good man, Sulu,” he says finally. “You deserve this. Don’t be stupid, alright? And if you ever need to talk…” McCoy looks uncomfortable and slightly sheepish, which is to say, gruff and grumpy. “Well, the wife and I did have some good years before it all went to hell.”

“Thank you,” Hikaru says, genuinely touched. “I really appreciate that.”

“Yeah, yeah.” McCoy is always embarrassed by emotion. “Come on. It’s my turn to buy you a drink.

A month later, he and Ben are sitting at Ben’s kitchen table, going over the guest list and Ben says, “can I see that for a second?” before flipping through a few pages and crossing off a name. Hikaru recognizes it as belonging to one of Ben’s uncles.

“What’s up?” he asks, knowing this can’t be going anywhere good.

“My dad and Uncle Jack got into a fight,” Ben says with a sigh. He sounds so, so tired. Ben’s uncle Jack while not opposed to Ben’s sexuality has always expressed concern (and Ben said that it was Aunt Maylin’s erotica books that put the ideas into his head) about the age difference between him and Hikaru.

“If a sixty-year-old white man has a twenty-year-old trophy wife, no one says anything, because that’s just _expected_ of him right?” Ben had snapped after that one family dinner too many where Uncle Jack had asked Hikaru if he always dated older men. A heavy silence from the family had greeted his words. It felt oppressive to Hikaru though it hadn’t slowed Ben at all. “But _somehow_ ,” he’d continued, “if I want to date a beautiful, intelligent man ten years my junior with a successful Starfleet career, well, God _forbid_! The children are going get bad ideas!”

They had left without staying for dessert. Hikaru had taken Ben’s hand in the car and Ben had held it in a death grip the entire drive home.

“Straight people, am I right?” Hikaru said with a dry smile. When Ben had tried to apologize for his family, he’d just kissed him and said, “Hey. It’s not your fault.”

All this flashed through Hikaru’s mind now, as he and Ben sat at his old cedar wood table, notes and planners spread in front of them, and Hikaru’s mug of tea going cold at his elbow.

“My uncle asked my father if he had any reservations about the wedding, because you know, he’s _read things_ and Dad said, in front of everyone, and I quote ‘If my son wants to get married that’s great and it’s not any less great just because he likes to take it from a younger man!’”

“Ah.” If it hadn’t been just the two of them in the room, Hikaru probably would have gone red. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” he says quietly, taking Ben’s hand.

Ben lifts their hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss to Hikaru’s wrist. “My relationship with you,” he says in a low voice. “Is not about power. It has never been about that. It’s never been about me telling you what to do. This is too important.”

“I know,” Hikaru says simply. He squeezes Ben’s hand and Ben smiles at him. It’s a small smile but it’s a real one. Hikaru takes it as a victory. “Ready to crush these invites?” Hikaru asks.

Ben’s smile widens. “I was born ready.”

 

Hikaru has to say, he doesn’t see what Pavel’s problem is. Of course his wedding is going to have a lot of plants.

“It is a good thing I love you!” Pavel says. It’s now a week before the wedding and they are hauling Hikaru’s order of dragon bonsai trees out of the truck into his mom’s greenhouse. Hikaru has parked it so that the bumper was hovering level with the curb but it had dipped as soon as the engine was shut off. As they unload the pots, the truck slowly begins to lift again, like a balloon filling with air.

“That’s why you’re my best man,” Hikaru says easily, adding his pot to a greenhouse shelf already full of them.

Hendorff is helping and he’s been teasing Pavel the whole time, carrying one pot under each arm with ease. Pavel just carrying one in both hands makes Hikaru worried for his back. “Do you even lift, Chekov?” Hendorff asks with good humor as he holds the door open for Pavel. Pavel sticks out his tongue. Hikaru laughs.

There’s a few Andorian insect traps that are Hikaru’s favorite part of the whole botany display. They’re going to be set at either side of the fruit bar to keep fruit flies away. Killer, beautiful, and practical.

Speaking of which…

Taking his buzzing phone out of his pocket, he grins at the display name. “Hey,” he says, trying to keep his voice from lapsing into what Pavel refers to as the “Ben tone.” He still kind of tries to deny that such a tone exists.

It’s a losing battle, just as it always is. “Hi Ben!” Pavel shouts, having safely deposited his bonsai on the counter under the shelf. Hikaru covers the receiver with his hand and mouths “ _HOW?_ ” at him. Pavel grins and taps his temple.

“Hey Pavel,” Ben says and Hikaru can hear the laughter in his voice.

“What’s up, babe?” He swore he would never call any man “babe” but he’d lost that battle too. According to Kirk, everyone does.

Ben sighs. “What percent of our budget was for the plants?”

“Eighteen. Why, what’s wrong?”

“My grandpa was just released from the hospital and he’s insisting on coming. My siblings want me to go in with them to pay for the special transport it would take to get him out here.”

Hikaru gets what he’s saying. He smiles sadly at his shelf of bonsais. “I still have the receipts,” he said. “How much do we need?”

If marriage is a compromise, well, there’s no one he’d rather be negotiating with.

 

The bachelor party is set to happen three days before the wedding. Pavel’s only instructions to the group chat are: _dress well. This means a white shirt with black tie and that is meaning_ you _, Captain._

 _Wow, Jimmy,_ comes McCoy’s reply. _He called you captain off duty. The kid means business._

In response, Kirk sends three man-in-a-suit emojis followed by three fire emojis.

When they all show up outside Hikaru’s family home at 1700 hours, they’re all wearing white dress shirts and black ties, even Uhura. The only deviation is Scotty, who has paired his shirt and tie with a kilt and honestly, Hikaru’s touched that Scotty finds his wedding important enough to break out Scott family tartan.

At dinner, they sit around the private table in the restaurant, which Pavel reserved so they could all avoid the usual recognition and curious stares, and each of them toast Hikaru and Ben. He wishes that he could burn their little speeches into his head, from Kirk predicting that one day he’ll be a captain (“takes one to know one, guys”) to Scotty proclaiming that he and Ben will make “beautiful wee adopted bairns” together.

Pavel limits each of them to one drink at dinner and then hustles them out the door, saying “the shooting range will not stay open all night!”

Pavel, because he is the best best man ever, has made the theme of the night James Bond and the shooting range is only their first stop. As they arrive, Kirk and Hikaru instantly start trash talking each other about who is the better marksman. (It’s Kirk, in the end, winning over Hikaru by a few hairs but Hikaru can’t be annoyed.

“I’d still win in fencing,” he says.

Kirk grins, an arm slung around his shoulder as they all pose for a photo. Scotty won’t stop humming the James Bond theme. “I know you would.”)

They go to a casino next and eventually the six of them get their own poker table. It quickly becomes apparent that Uhura and Spock are on a level of their own because both of the have the best poker faces Hikaru has ever seen.

“Who do you think it’s gonna be?” Kirk whispers to him and Pavel as they watch Uhura raise again. Kirk and Pavel bet on Spock; Hikaru, McCoy and Scotty bet on Uhura. When she eventually wins, Kirk and Pavel sigh good naturedly, with Kirk saying “You know, Mr. Spock, a captain should be able to _trust_ his first officer.”

“A captain must also be able to accurately assess the abilities of his crew members,” Spock said easily.

“Yeah, yeah,” Kirk says. He’s smiling though. Spock might be too though it’s hard to tell. “Alright guys, what do you want? Drink are on me.”

The last thing Pavel has planned for them is the take them back to Starfleet Academy and use their security clearance, not to mention their reputations (something Hikaru has a feeling he’s used a lot tonight) to take out a helicopter. Again, Pavel is the _best_ best man ever.

“I hope you know how much paper work had to go into this,” Kirk says as they all climb aboard. “I’m telling you, if Yeoman Rand was any less on top of her game, the Academy would not have cleared this.”

“He’s not kidding,” Uhura says to the rest of them. To Kirk, she says, “I’ve seen your petition rough drafts. All of your arguments are based on your reputation.”

“Oh come on, lieutenant, they’re based on The Enterprise’s record of success,” Kirk protests. He’s grinning though, so he’s clearly not taking any offense.

“Which is tied to your reputation. Captain.” Uhura raises an eyebrow at him. She’s kind of smiling too.

“Well,” Kirk says, with exaggerated cockiness. “I _am_ Jim Kirk.”

“More like, your yeoman is Janice Rand,” McCoy mutters, taking a swig from Scotty’s flask and passing it back to him. “That woman is a saint.”

“That is true,” Pavel agrees, leading Hikaru to the cockpit. “And the Academy assured me that this is strictly a one-time deal.”

“I guess Ben and I will have to only get married once then,” Hikaru says as he slips into the pilot’s seat.

If they'd never seen it, someone might expect the view of San Francisco at night from a helicopter to be spectacular.

That someone [would](https://photos.smugmug.com/Artwork-For-Sale/i-PXHxQk5/0/XL/SF%20Twin%20Peaks%20Bay%20Bridge-XL.jpg) [be](http://earthspacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/original13.jpg) [right.](https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8088/8529753127_59e5709d4e_b.jpg)

 

Two nights before the wedding, he goes back to Pavel’s hotel room and the minute Pavel unlocks the door, he says “I need alcohol.”

“Never fear!” Pavel heads to the mini fridge and pulls out the bottle of vodka that Hikaru can always count on him to have.

“My brother’s girlfriend,” Hikaru begins as Pavel pours them shots, “said that she would never have a problem with attending a gay wedding because she, quote, ‘loves gay porn.’”

“I did not know there would be porn at your wedding!” Pavel quips.

“Yeah, neither did I.”

They knock back their shots together and Hikaru has to brace himself because this vodka was brewed by Pavel’s crazy aunt and Hikaru’s pretty sure they make their vodka in a bathtub. As the fiery feeling recedes from his throat, he holds out his glass for another.

Pavel obliges. “You know what I read today?” he asks as he pours himself a shot as well. “Over 30% percent of writers for queer media is straight women.”

Ugh. “What _year_ is it?” Hikaru raises a sarcastic eyebrow and lifts his glass. “To straight people,” he says.

Pavel clinks his glass against Hikaru’s. “Straight people!”

After they down those shots, Hikaru brings a list up on his phone and says, “I’ve got a lot of wedding shot for us here. You sure you’ve got enough vodka?”

“For you, Hikaru?” Pavel says, pulling another bottle out of the fridge. “Always.”

When Hikaru’s eyes snap open two days later, the first thought in his head is _I’m getting married today._

He lies in his bed for a second or two and tries to let that sink in. It doesn’t seem to be real. “I’m getting married today,” he says out loud. The happiness begins to bubble up at those words. “I’m getting _married_ today,” he repeats to himself, a grin splitting his face. He reaches for his phone. He has five excited texts from Pavel. None from Ben yet but Hikaru’s usually the first one up anyway. He sends off _It’s today! :D <3 _ and goes to get dressed.

All the attending Starfleet personnel are in dress uniform, including Hikaru. Even surrounded by all of them, Ben still looks ridiculously good in his tux. As Hikaru dips him at the altar for the kiss, everyone cheers. He’s pretty sure it’s Kirk who wolf-whistles. Also, Uhura and McCoy might be crying. Pavel and Scotty _definitely_ are. The Starfleet personnel make an arch of swords as they exit the church and are whisked off to take pictures.

At the reception, the wedding party’s table as three dragon bonsai as the center piece. “We splurged,” Hikaru’s mother whispers to him as he’s gaping at them. “We couldn’t get them all back for you but Ben told us about his grandfather and we thought you should at least have some at your table.”

“Thanks Mom,” he says and she kisses him on the cheek.

Ben’s grandpa is there, looking a little worse for wear but still in a great mood, complimenting everyone and everything. Between his presence and the three bonsais on the head table, Hikaru wouldn’t change a thing.

Uncle Jack and Aunt Maylin ended up with invites after all. Ben’s dad had been dismayed to learn that they had actually been uninvited so he and Ben had talked, Ben had run it by Hikaru and an agreement had finally been reached. Uncle Jack would be 100% cordial and Aunt Maylin agreed to not drink too much and start speculating about who tops.

“Family is about compromise,” Ben had said wearily.

Hikaru dances with Aunt Maylin at the reception and she upholds her end of the deal impeccably. Hikaru thinks that they could get her to swear of alcohol forever, she would actually be a lovely person.

He’s received a year leave from Starfleet. It’s both than he could have hoped for (probably one of Yeoman Rand’s miracles) and at the same time, it feels far too short. They’ve talked about their options, about Ben moving to a space colony, about Hikaru taking a different position. They’ll sacrifice, and take turns sacrificing. It’s not going to be easy. Some people might say that it’s going to be impossible, but hey, he serves on The Enterprise, a ship that accomplishes and survives the impossible every other day.

He’s learned something from being a member of a crew like that; having people who believe in you, in who you are and in what you can do, makes all the difference. The crew doesn’t believe in him because they’re blood relatives who sort of have to. They aren’t the public who are hoping for a good story. The crew believes in Hikaru, in Pavel, in the captain, Uhura, all of them because they’ve each seen what the other is capable of and they have faith in what they _will_ be capable of. So does Ben.

And Hikaru believes in Ben right back, believes in him like he believes in the laws of aerodynamics, the constant rate of gravity. He has faith in their marriage because he’s seen what they can do.

The two of them slow dance one last time, while the taxi waits for them outside, ready to take them to the hotel room Ben’s parents have booked for them. They hold hands as they exit the reception hall, waving to their friends and family as they go, the tinted glass of the ceiling changing colors in time to the music.

“I’d like,” Ben says between little kisses in the back of the cab, “to dedicate this evening to anyone who told us long distance is impossible.”

“I accomplish six impossible things before breakfast,” Hikaru agrees, kissing him again before leaning their foreheads together.

“What a coincidence,” Ben says with a smile. “So do I.”

Hikaru smiles back. “We have so much in common.”

As the taxi takes the onramp for the highway, Ben leans his head on Hikaru’s shoulder. Hikaru looks out the window and knows that above the light pollution of San Francisco, the stars are waiting, as constant as a promise.

Ben’s ring rests on his finger and feels like the exact same thing.             

  


**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote this because obviously I wanted Sulu wedding fluffiness, (I'm a huge sap sometimes, okay, sue me) but I also wanted to lowkey address the gross fetishizing that follows queer couples around, oftentimes in the guise of "being a good ally." While I know and respect that Roddenberry's world was a bit of a Utopia and society had resolved social issues, again, I wanted to address this. I mean, we're kind of living in a time when people say things like "racism is OVER" and "I'm not racist; I have black friends/listen to Lil Wayne/had a Rasta phase" etc. So this is kind of my take on "homophobia is OVER." Anyway, I hope that was still an enjoyable read! I also am a sucker for writing The Enterprise as a rag-tag family and hopefully the ratio was balanced enough here.


End file.
